2 Billion-Year-Old Cells, Wildfires, and Ancient Mummy Sounds

A month worth of cool science stories, summed up.
Alistair Jennings, Contributor

(Inside Science) -- In this monthly science recap, Alistair Jennings from Inside Science sums up some of the most interesting science from the past month, from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, where buried in the oxygen-poor mud may be a crucial part of the story of how complex life evolved on Earth, to the Australian wildfires -- and a recent rapid response review that confirms such fires have become more likely because of climate change, which means we can likely look forward to double the number of Amazonian wildfires by 2050. Also this month, we talk about sarin gas and how a U.S. Army research team has developed a gene-editing virus that can neutralize its deadly effects. Lastly, we get to listen to the sound of a 3,000-year-old mummy, whose larynx has been CT-scanned and re-created with a 3D printer. 

References:  

Prometheoarchaea 

Real cell super-imaging 

Review – wildfires more likely because of Climate Change 

Fires more likely in the amazon 

Climate change makes violent crime more likely – warmer weather more opportunities  

Viruses 

Gene-therapy protects against nerve gas 

Sound of an ancient mummy 

Author Bio & Story Archive

Ali Jennings has his PhD in neuroscience from University College London.